


All I Want For Christmas Is You

by Carochinha, WingSongHalo



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-25
Updated: 2013-01-25
Packaged: 2017-11-26 21:48:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/654752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carochinha/pseuds/Carochinha, https://archiveofourown.org/users/WingSongHalo/pseuds/WingSongHalo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>According to Karkat, Christmas was all about love, and giving with love, and receiving with love, and what mattered wasn’t what you got people, but that you gave it to them with love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All I Want For Christmas Is You

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally written for the Homestuck Secret Santa on Tumblr, so it might be a little out of season (I don't know, you might be reading this at any time, really) but we do hope you enjoy it.

In the Captor-Ampora-Peixes household, it might have looked like a perfectly normal day to any outsider. Feferi was already running around, scurrying to lit up the fireplace that had gone out during the night, and failing miserably at that. Eridan was in the bathroom, wrapped in his fluffy, warm purple night robe, staring at the mirror, trying to style his hair with his vision clouded by both sleep and lack of glasses. Sollux was happily splayed in bed, trying to spend those last few minutes without anyone screaming for his help, thankful for the lack of its other cold, fishy occupants. 

At the exact same time, much to his annoyance, the cries of “Sol, could you bring me my glasses?” and “Sollux, could you please come help me light the fireplace?” resonated in the house and in his ears, forcing him to drag himself out of bed and start another wintery day. 

A while later, the three of them were sitting on the living room couch, eating pancakes and watching Saturday-morning kids’ cartoons. And this was when the normal day started looking a bit different. 

It was nearing Christmas, and none of them had bought each other’s presents! They had all gone out a couple weeks ago to buy everyone else’s presents, but they still hadn’t gotten the gifts for each other. So Eridan had decided that later that day, he would go shopping. 

Of course, as the rules of probability would have it, both Feferi and Sollux had decided the exact same thing. 

And so, the Christmas Shopping Fest Day started.  
——

Eridan was the first to leave, under the pretense of getting more hair gel. As with anything, he was extremely picky about his brand of hair gel, so neither of the other two thought it was weird for him to dedicate a whole shopping trip to it.

Feferi left half an hour later, after telling Sollux that they were out of milk. Feferi was, if anything, pickier about their food than Eridan was with his hair. If it wasn’t organic, homemade, or a gift, it wasn’t entering the house. She might watch one too many environmental television programs, but no one dared to stop her. 

Sollux lounged around the house for a bit, until he thought neither of them would be close by anymore, and then left the house. As he walked to the subway station, he took out his phone and quickly dialed a number. The call was picked up within seconds. 

“Damn it, Eridan, I’ve already told you...”

“Eridan? What the heck are you going on about, Karkat?”

“Oh Sollux! Hey, Sollux!” He sounded surprisingly chipper for someone who'd been yelling five seconds before. “What do you want?”

“Well, I just wanted to know... You were the one who organized the Christmas presents list, weren’t you?”

“I knew it, I fucking knew it, gogdamnit you guys.” Karkat mumbled on the other side of the line.

“What?”

“Yeah, I was the one taking care of that; yes, I can tell what everyone got for Feferi and Eridan so you don’t buy doubles; no, you don’t need to thank me.”

“Damnit, Karkat, you sound like you’ve been telling this to people all day.”

“You. Have. No. Fucking. Idea.”

“Well, anyway, can you tell me then?”  
——

As Karkat told Sollux, for the third time that day, which Christmas presents his lovers were getting, Feferi was arriving at the mall, after a very cold bus trip. According to Karkat, a bunch of video games Sollux wanted, along with a new pair of headphones, and, surprisingly enough, a plush bee, were all things that someone else was already giving him. On the Eridan side, it wouldn’t be a very good idea to give him clothes of any kind, specially scarves, which half of the people seemed to have decided to do. 

That left her in quite a dire situation. For as much as she loved both of them, in that precise moment, she couldn’t think of a single gift to offer them! 

So she decided to start by roaming the mall, searching for inspiration in those shelves filled of various products, maybe hoping one of them would turn out to be the perfect gift... However, her usually active imagination seemed to be failing her. Store after store, window after window, nothing seemed to jump out at her, nothing seemed to yell ”PERFECT GIFT OVER HERE!!”

What do you get for someone you love that much on Christmas? What kind of gift could possibly prove how much she loved her two boys?

She sighed and sat down on a bench. She had had no difficulty finding gifts for all of their other friends! What could possibly be so hard about getting two damn presents for the two damn trolls she spent her whole damn days with?

What did they want?  
——

Eridan, having just arrived at the mall, was now looking at the window of a shop of chic male clothing. However, the more he looked at it, the more he guessed he wouldn’t find anything for Sollux in there. Although it was one of his personal favorite stores, he highly doubted that opinion was shared.

And Feferi... Well, if anything, getting a gift for her would be even more difficult! As he roamed the halls, he spotted a Starbucks a short way forwards. It probably couldn’t hurt to have a sip of something...  
——

Of the three of them, Sollux was probably the one with the best idea of what to get the others... Mostly because he’d been there when Karkat was trying to grasp the meaning of Christmas through films John had picked. And, according to the hour-long lecture he’d had to endure when Karkat finally understood what Christmas meant, Christmas was all about love, and giving with love, and receiving with love, and what mattered wasn’t what you got people, but that you gave it to them with love. 

But still, as he was in subway, heading for the mall, he couldn’t help but think of what exactly he should give with love... Sollux wasn’t a very lovey-dovey guy, and Eridan and Feferi could certainly get on his nerves sometimes, but he still loved his two fishies very much. So much, that he didn’t know what kind of gift could show that he really cared. 

As if prompted by Sollux’s thoughts, he caught a glimpse of a familiar fishface through the window of the coffee shop (of course—had Sollux expected anything different?). He attempted to sneak past without notice, but—

“Sol! Hey, Sol! I’m in here!” Sollux winced sheepishly and reluctantly turned to face him. He was waving at him through the window frantically and raising his voice as if the glass was a foot thick. “Sol, it’s me, Eridan!!”

“I know, Eridan,” he sighed. “I can see you, you idiot.” He shook his head, but a smile was spreading across his face. At Eridan’s continued beckoning, he decided to join his boyfriend in Starbucks— relaxing a little while couldn’t hurt, and maybe the surroundings would give him an idea about what to buy for his lovers.

“So how’s the surchin’?” Eridan asked importantly, taking a sip of—what even was that, Sollux wondered—and raising one imperious eyebrow.

“Fruitless,” Sollux replied, plopping himself down across from his boyfriend in the booth. Eridan made a vague “mm” noise of understanding, still drinking his malodorous concoction. Sollux let loose a great sigh. “Nothing here is really my style, you know? I’m not a flowers-and-chocolates guy.”

“Neither am I,” Eridan said, unnecessarily. Sollux knew that, of course. “Although if I could make a suggestion—”

“No, just!—” Sollux held up a hand to silence him (although this tactic almost never succeeded in shutting up Eridan: few things did). “I don’t want any hints. I have to do this on my own.”

“Sol, you really shouldn’t be so independent all the time,” his boyfriend chided him. He tipped his cup of coffee to his mouth again, then gave it a confused glance and peered into the small slit in the lid. Giving a small shrug, he removed the cap and drained the dregs of whatever-it-was from the cup with an unattractive slurp.

Sollux resisted the urge to roll his eyes. With people like Eridan to offer advice, was it any wonder why he preferred to make his own decisions? “Well, if you’re so good at this,” he challenged, “What fantastic thing have you got up your fancy cashmere sleeves?”

“My gift-choosin cannot be rushed,” Eridan sniffed. Sollux supposed that meant Eridan was just as lost as he was. 

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Sollux said, smiling slightly. They sat there in silence for a moment, each thinking about how to ask for advice without really asking for advice.

“Sol—” Eridan began

“You—” Sollux started at the same moment. They stared at each other for a second before Sollux leaned back in his booth and motioned for Eridan to go first. Sollux always let Eridan go first.

“Do you think Feferi would like first-row tickets to that underground music club I go to on Friday nights?”

“Ew, man, no; why can’t you think of anyone but yourself when you’re shopping?”

“I know what I like!” Eridan said defensively. 

“Well I think you should be thinking more about what _Feferi_ likes,” Sollux pointed out.

Eridan slumped over, leaning his chest on the table and crossing his arms poutily. “But it’s hard,” he whined. 

“Look, just—” Sollux sighed. “Christmas is about showing people you care. Get Feferi something that lets her know that you actually love her as much as you love yourself. I mean, do you ever _listen_ to her? She talks about stuff she likes all the time!”

The seadweller glanced up at him. “But that advice doesn’t apply to you,” he replied hesitantly. “You never talk about what _you_ like, Sol.”

“I don’t really like that many things,” Sollux muttered. 

“You like us,” Eridan said, and the way he said it sounded almost unsure, as if an unspoken question hung on the end of his statement.

Sollux actually _did_ roll his eyes this time. “Of course I like you, fish-brain,” he said, and couldn’t resist giving him something between a pat and a light smack on the head, right where his stupid purple streak was. Despite the odd gesture, Eridan looked heartened, and straightened in his seat.

“You’re right, Sol,” he said, and he sounded much more confident.

“I know. About what, though?”

“I should get you guys somefin that shows I listen to you,” he explained. “I’ll show you guys how well I really know you.”

Sollux froze suddenly. “Eridan, say that again.”

Eridan blinked. He had never been asked to say anything again. Usually his saying something once was too much for people. “I’ll show you how well I know you?” he repeated unsurely.

“Perfect!” Sollux exclaimed, sounding more excited than he usually let himself sound. He rose out of the booth hurriedly, gave Eridan a quick kiss on the top of his head in gratitude, and rushed off, leaving the seadweller sitting there with his empty coffee and a shocked look on his face.  
——

The problem with getting Eridan clothes, as Feferi was finding out, was that not only was everybody doing pretty much the same thing, but that it was something he could get for himself. And it was no fun getting him a gift like that. 

And then, she looked at the store next door. And in her mind, a picture formed. 

She quite liked that picture.  
——

Meanwhile, Eridan was still looking lost. After a nice 13 shot venti soy hazelnut vanilla cinnamon white mocha with extra white mocha and caramel, he was now ready to go back to gift hunting. Which actually wasn’t a prospect he was much looking forward to. But then, as he left the shop, he spotted an unexpected someone across the hall. 

“Fef?” he wondered out loud. She turned, and Eridan was able to see that it was, indeed, his girlfriend.

“Oh, Eridan! What could you possibly be doing in here?”

“You know, just, window shopping...” he then noticed a large, brown paper bag in her hands. “Oh, what’s that?”

“Th-this?”

“Yes.”

“It’s... It’s... uh... It’s... Cat food!” as soon as she said the words, she wondered why, and whether she would be able to continue building on them.

“Cat food.”

“Yup, cat food!”

“Fef.”

“Yes?”

“We don’t have a cat.”

“And isn’t that just awful?!” At this point, she was simply wondering in her mind what the fuck she was saying. 

“Huh?”

“I mean, we completely should have a cat! Just think of how many cats don’t have a home, and of how we should have them...” 

“...Didn’t Tav once make a speech with those same words?” 

“...Perhaps...Anyway, I really got to go, see you at home, bye!” and she hurried off, wondering if he had been suspicious. 

“That was susfishious.” Eridan said out loud, as he started walking on the opposite direction. Feferi didn’t usually act THAT weirdly. And what was all that spiel about cats again?

As he wandered about, he didn’t notice exactly where he was going, until he found himself in front of a tidy little shop he’d never noticed before. The sign on the door, however, revealed its purpose clearly. 

And then he saw it. And he smiled. 

That was definitely the best Christmas gift ever.  
——

A short while after Eridan had made a very expensive Christmas gift purchase, and Feferi was hurrying out of the shopping mall, Eridan was phoning Karkat.

“Hey, Kar...” he began.

“Eridan, for the last fucking time, I told you to stop calling me! If you can’t figure out your own fucking relationship, maybe you shouldn’t—”

“No, Kar, I was just wonderin if you could keep my gift to Sol and Fef at your place for a few days.”

“Sollux and Feferi’s gift?” His voice sounded almost curious for a moment. “You—Wait, NO; gogdammit, NO. I am so fucking done with helping everyone all the time! I’ve got things to do too, you know!” 

Eridan heard a faint voice in the background. “Kaaaarkaaat~” it said playfully, “Help me set up this stuff! There’s still misteltoe to hang and halls to deck with holly!” 

“I’m coming, John; Jegus, give me a minute!” Karkat snapped to the voice. “Look, Eridan, I’ve got to go. I can’t deal with your stupid gift right now,” he continued to the seadweller.

“But Kar...” Eridan whined. “I don’t have anywhere else to keep her.”

“...Her?”

A moment later, Eridan had made plans to keep his Christmas gift at Karkat’s, and stepped outside to hail a taxi.  
——

For the following two weeks leading up to Christmas, their household was surprisingly silent. Sollux spent most of his time cooped up in his workshop (his workshop was actually an old bathroom that had been remodeled to look like a computer lab, with thousands of parts strewn across the floor), while Feferi would always be found hiding something the moment any of the other two entered the room she was in. Only Eridan seemed to be completely normal, except for the daily phone calls from Karkat. There was a lot of yelling involved in those phones calls, mostly from Karkat’s side. 

But finally, Christmas Eve rolled around, and it was finally show time. After a really nice dinner, they headed to the Christmas tree, where there were some boxes that hadn’t been there the previous day. Of course, all of them knew that those were their gifts for each other, so they decided to leave those for last. 

Opening presents was still a joy, especially when you had such an array of friends as they did. Every single thing seemed to have been chosen with care, and the three of them laughed a lot as they unwrapped the presents. They’d each gotten a hand-knitted sweater from Kanaya, a hand-knitted laptop cozy from Rose, and a set of gooey romantic Christmas movies from Karkat. Sollux had unwrapped a stuffed bee from Tavros, Eridan had received scarves from almost everybody, and Dave had given them each a gallon of apple juice (for some reason). Feferi was incredibly surprised as she unwrapped a small little handgun, a gift from Jade. 

Finally, all the presents had been unwrapped but for the ones they’d gotten for each other. Feferi was the first to go at it, picking up two large, malleable paper packages from the floor. 

“So let’s sea... This one is for Eridan... And this one is for Sollux!” she handed them their presents, and watched in anticipation as they unwrapped it.

They both were surprised when they saw scarves as their gifts. They were made from pure wool, and they really seemed very cozy and warm. And silly, too. 

“Hey, Fef... You didn’t switch the gifts, by any chance?” Eridan’s question was understandable. After all, his scarf was bright yellow with red and blue stripes, along with tiny bees at the ends, while Sollux’s was deep purple, with seahorses at the ends. 

“Nope!” she said brightly. “This way, everyone will know that you belong to each otter!” 

She got up and hurried to her room, emerging a moment later with yet another scarf. This one was both yellow and purple, with the Gemini and Aquarius symbols at the ends. 

“And this way, everyone will know that you two are mine!”

“So when I ran into you at the shopping mall... You were buying wool?” Eridan asked.

“Yup! I mean, I wanted to give you two something personal, something I was able to do by myself! And scarves seemed easy enough, and aren’t they just adorable?!”

It was silly, and handmade, and adorable. It was Feferi in one gift. And it was perfect. Sollux pulled two boxes from underneath the Christmas tree, handing them to the other two. Sollux wasn’t really a gift-giving type, so the others didn’t really know what to expect.

When the two seadwellers lifted the tops from the boxes and peered inside, they looked at Solux with confusion. They looked like some kind of speaker, with knobs and a display screen with green text that read “ERIDAN” and “FEFERI” respectively. 

“Uh, Sollux,” Feferi began politely. “What...what is this?”

“Say something into the microphone,” Sollux prompted. He looked very bashful.

“Uh...something?” Feferi said uncertainly into the device.

 _CONFUSION DETECTED. PLAYING MEDITATION MUSIC_ , the display read. The sounds of flutes and mandolins filled the room.

“Whoa!” said Feferi, pulling her device out of its box. “What...how does it know that?” Eridan had pulled his from his box as well and was holding it up to his ears and shaking it slightly as if it had something inside it.

“It’s a Moodplayer,” Sollux explained. “I invented it. It...senses how you’re feeling, and plays music according to your emotions. I wanted to show you guys that I’m always aware of how you’re feeling, so...” he trailed off, blushing and looking away. A huge grin spread across Feferi’s face, knowing that Sollux didn’t regularly say anything so sappy. 

“Does this thing have my kind of music too?” Eridan asked, looking very impressed with his Moodplayer, even if he was holding it upside-down.

“It’s got all of your stupid indie bands,” Sollux confirmed, and Eridan smiled at it even more.

“Thank you, Sollux! You are just so thoughtful!” Feferi squealed, kissing him on the cheek.

 _MUSHY ROMANTIC FEELINGS DETECTED. PLAYING TROLL BARRY WHITE_ , her Moodplayer’s display read.

“Uhh...we’ll save that for later,” Sollux said quickly, hitting the OFF button on Feferi’s Moodplayer.

“Well, I don’t know how my gift is going to measure up to that,” Eridan said, setting his Moodplayer aside as well, “But after I ran into you at the mall, Fef, I thought about how this would be somefin we could all enjoy together.” He slid the largest box out from under the tree and between his two mates. He was wearing his uniquely irritating I-know-something-you-don’t-know face, and Sollux and Feferi looked at each other, wondering what could possibly be inside that box.

They lifted the top together, and looked inside. And the inside looked back.

“ _Meow?_ ”


End file.
